As the double-disc The Fragile unfurls, all of Nine Inch Nails' trademarks -- gargantuan, processed guitars, ominous electro rhythms, near-ambient keyboards, Trent Reznor's shredded vocals and tortured words -- are unveiled, all sounding pretty much how they did on The Downward Spiral. Upon closer inspection, there are new frills, yet these aren't apparent without digging. The Fragile lives up to its title once the first disc is over. There are some detours into noisy bluster (some, like the Marilyn Manson dis "Starfuckers, Inc.," work quite well) but they're surrounded by long, evocative instrumental sections that highlight Reznor's gifts for arrangement. Whenever Reznor crafts delicate, alternately haunting and pretty soundscapes or interesting sonic juxtapositions, The Fragile is compelling. Since they provide a change of pace, the bursts of industrial noise assist the flow of the album, which never feels indulgent, even though it runs over 100 minutes. There's no denying that it's often gripping, offering odd and interesting variations on NIN themes. Reznor's music is immaculately crafted and arranged, with every note and nuance gliding into the next. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Technical Info

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (10/14/99, p.120) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...[Reznor's] version of Pink Floyd's THE WALL...[venting] his alienation and misery into paranoid studio hallucinations, each track crammed with overdubs until there's no breathing room....it's New Wave with its finger on the trigger..."

Spin (11/99, pp.179-80) - 9 out of 10 - "...[Reznor's] epic portrayal of the endless, aimless inner din....THE FRAGILE is a good old-fashioned strap-on-your-headphones experience....a concept album....He tries to leap into an ocean of sound, but a breakbeat throws him back on shore..."

Entertainment Weekly (9/24/99, pp.142-3) - "...THE FRAGILE feels freshest, and most like a progression from THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL when the music struggles upward toward some sort of transcendence....hard rock simply doesn't get any smarter, harder, or more ambitious than this." - Rating: A-

Alternative Press (11/99, pp.118-9) - 5 out of 5 - "...relevant as ever....nothing short of astounding....THE FRAGILE is Reznor's bid to be not only successful but also Important. And I think he's made it..."